Dear Yaz,
Fuck you. Just fuck you. I used to have periods that were light, cramp-free, and over in three days. Now, thanks to you, I am a clotted, bleeding mess for a week at a time, only comfortable when my body is contorted as tightly as possible into the cannonball position. Your advertisements claim to make periods better, and you have actually somehow made mine worse. Which is ironic, actually, because it's not even a real period, it's your nasty and unnecessary interpretation of it. You cavort around in the disguise of a "natural period", wreaking havoc to my uterine walls, when everyone knows all you are is just withdrawal bleeding. You disgust me.
What's more, you've turned the rest of me into a head-case. Where once I was even-keeled, I am now subject to violent mood swings. Where once I was feisty, I go whole days in a fog of lethargy and vague depression. In short, you suck. You are only good for one thing, and that is keeping me free of fetuses. But I've had it, Yaz. It's over. Your bad qualities vastly outweigh your contraceptive ones. Consider us through.
Signed,
My Uterus
PS - My Breasts would like to add that you made them larger, and they are not cool with it.
Ahem. That was my TMI way of putting a call out there to all of you heterosexual feminists. I had the misfortune of attending a Southern Baptist high school for the sex-ed portion of my education, and as such I need y'all to fill in the gaps, if you don't mind.
I have deemed August "Contraception Month," which is to say, I am taking a month to explore all the contraceptive options and asking women about their personal experiences with it, before making my own decision on a method. Obviously, my situation is slightly biased: I managed to land myself in a long-term monogamous relationship, so I'm not that excited about using only condoms, but I've also worked up a significant ire against hormonal birth control. However, I want to hear everybody's perspective. What I'm hoping is that this can serve as kind of a feminist guide to birth control that women who are frustrated with their options might be able to get a little bit of guidance from.
So, let's talk birth control: What positive and negative experiences have you had with different types of birth control? Does hormonal birth control work for most women, or have a lot of you encountered these sorts of problems? Is IUD insertion as painful as it looks? What financial concerns have you faced in looking for a good method of birth control? Have any of you been successful in procuring sterilization at a young age, or tried and failed? Has natural family planning worked for many of you, and if so, how? What the fuck happened to the sponge? Let me know.
I realize this post smacks of heteronormativity, but I think that this is an issue worthy of some serious discussion all the same, because there is a lot to discuss: my ever-growing suspicion that hormonal birth control was invented by men to emotionally subjugate women so they could keep claiming we are unfit to hold public office; what utter bullshit it is that, as women, we bear almost the entire weight of responsibility when it comes to contraception (excepting STD protection, obviously); whether there is really a good method of birth control, or if, as I suspect, they all suck to varying degrees.
Either way, let me know what you all think. Is there any hope, beyond the ever-illusive male birth control pill?
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Sorry to hear about the BCP troubles...it seems like what works for one woman is another woman's nightmare :( There's a LOT of variation in personal biochemistry.
I'm on my 2nd Mirena IUD and I am so happy with it. It releases a very small amount of progesterone which is completely taken up in the uterus, and therefore does not affect the level of circulating hormones in the blood, which can play games with the whole system.
I get no periods, which is a side effect I like very much. I just enjoy not having to work around the damn thing, don't have to buy tampons/pads, no PMS, etc. I know some women like the regularity of a period, the confirmation that they are not pregnant, or see it as a feminine goddess thing, but for me personally, ditching the period is something I've dreamed about since puberty. But that's just me, an YMMV.
It's also good for 5 years, so I don't have to think about birth control, take anything regularly, deal with it "in the moment", etc. Though I personally don't want to have children, women who do want to have children can return to fertility fairly quickly after having it removed.
The first-time insertion can be a little painful, especially for women who have not given birth, but it's more like intense period cramps, though some women have more or less pain, so again, personal variation.
I'm interested to hear more about other people's experiences and methods of choice!
Do condoms and sex toys work well with Mirena? Are there certain things about IUDs that you have to be care of?
SilverAeris, I can definitely say that sex toys are no problem at all in my experience, but I have no idea about condoms since I have not used them (have been in a monogamous tested partnership) the whole time I've had one. There shouldn't be a problem, and in fact, since the IUD doesn't protect against STIs, condom use is recommended if you're not in an exclusive partnership, so that seems to point towards compatibility.
I've so far only used the Pill--Ortho-TriCyclin Lo and then Seasonique to try the whole no-periods thing (I'm one of the women who prefer the reassurance of getting my period, although it was really amazing to only have four periods a year). I never had any crazy side effects like you described. I had really bad cramps and crazy irregular periods before going on the pill, and the pill seemed to iron these out for me. My gyno did tell me that every pill affects individuals differently, that one pill that works great for one woman can wreak absolute havoc on another. I was lucky in that the first one (and second one) I tried worked well for me. I know some women have tried the mini-pill when they had major side effects from the regular pill, but I don't know much about that personally.
Currently I'm taking a brief hiatus from the pill, for no reason other than that I wanted to explore my other options for birth control--it is kinda a hassle to take a pill everyday. I also get pretty bad migraines, so I'm in the process of ruling out everything I've ever put in my body as a trigger. I'm really interested in the IUD option. I was originally told that many doctors will only consider implanting it in women who have had children. It seems like a really amazing option, especially because I KNOW I won't want children for at least ten years (if at all). I'm beginning grad school in the fall, so it would also be nice to not have to worry about filling a prescription every month. I am also in a long-term heterosexual monogamous relationship, and have hypochondriac tendencies, so I'm not a huge fan of condoms.
Anyone else have any other ideas for me? Anyone tried NuvaRing, or the sponge? I know less about these two options, so I'm just wondering what types of experiences women have with these.
Yup, that's me all over. I've been paranoid about blood clots for years. My sister had the same kinds of issues with Nuva Ring as I did with the pill - I am looking into IUDs and the sponge, primarily, but IUDs freak the hell out of me. You can get it inserted for free with student insurance at my grad school, but I hear there is more chance of it slipping in women who haven't had children.
I was interested to read Miriam's post this morning that young women are more apt to discard their current method of birth control because of the side effects. I wonder if that's because, as the younger generation, we're more flighty (sarcasm), or because having grown up with the option we're less likely to put up with shitty side effects. Maybe pharmaceutical companies will start getting creative.
lalalorelai14, I didn't have any problems getting my IUD, but my gyno was a younger progressive woman who was very much about providing information and alternatives and letting individual women make informed choices for themselves. If you don't feel that your doctor is listening to you or trusting you to know yourself best, get another one!
I've used 3 or 4 different brands over the years, and they've all worked well for me. I couldn't leave the house or function thanks to painful monthly symptoms before going on it 8 years ago. Now I experience nothing except perfect bliss, especially on Seasonique/Seasonale (both which worked well for me). I went off of it earlier this year while in the middle of switching insurance, and decided to see if my body still hated me, and much to much surprise, my face and back broke out in terrible acne - I spent more money buying anti-acne products that didn't work than I did on my 3-month prescription cost and finally decided to go back on it. I thought I'd just grown out of my teenage acne problem, but apparently it was the Pill keeping it at bay for all those years!
I'm pretty sure Yaz is only recommended if you have PMDD, though, isn't it? My sister tried it and it messed her up pretty badly, too, and she was definitely not a good candidate for it from what I've read about it.
And all of that above suggests this isn't a heternormative topic exclusively, since the Pill isn't solely for birth control. As far as birth control, even if there was a male pill, I'd still take mine. I can only be sure of myself that I'm taking it at the same time every day. I like having that control and assurance.
I can totally relate to this. I stopped taking the pill for a month and was attacked by horrible cramps (the reason I started BC)and a village of friendly acne all over my face.
"That was my TMI way of putting a call out there to all of you heterosexual feminists."
Uh, excuse me, but bisexual women like me use contraception too. It's also very common for lesbians to enter into relationships with men before they come out. Not to mention all the other queer women who don't identify as bisexual or lesbian.
"I realize this post smacks of heteronormativity..."
Then why did you post it? Discussing contraception doesn't have to be heteronormative. You could have posted it in a way that acknowledges non-heterosexual people.
As to your questions...
I've used depo-provera, nuvaring, condoms, and a diaphragm as primary methods of contraception.
depo-provera was very convenient at the time I was using it, but I had almost constant spotting during the 9 months I was on it.
nuva ring made my very irregular periods regular, but they were also heavier and crampier.
I don't like condoms as they rely on male participation (which not all of my partners have been keen on), not to mention that they tend to feel worse for me as well. I tend to avoid them unless I'm in a situation where STIs are an uncertainty.
The diaphragm has worked fairly well for me overall. Its not nearly as effective as hormonal methods, but is only slightly less effective than condoms. I don't have sex on a regular basis, so its nice being able to have birth control when I need it, without having to deal with it the rest of the time. The biggest draw back is that you have to stop what you're doing to insert it, and its much more of a process than putting on a condom.
I've gotten all of my birth control from planned parenthood. The wait times were long (a couple hours), but the price was free when I didn't have health insurance or a good paying job.
Sorry about that - you're right, I could have phrased that better. What I meant to express is that while I am mostly concerned with something that will keep me from becoming pregnant but still doesn't wreak too much havoc on the system, I realize that other women use it for many different reasons and I didn't want to limit the discussion to just my issues, as a female in a monogamous heterosexual relationship. Thanks for calling it out though - point taken and logged away for future use.
I use hormonal bc - the NuvaRing. But because it's inserted into the vagina and sits up near the cervix, close to the uterus, apparently you need a smaller dose of hormones than a pill. I went from having really rough periods to very easy, regular ones.
If you are only concerned about pregnancy (not STI's) b/c of your long-term monogamous relationship, give the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) a serious look. It's incredibly inexpensive (the cost of a book, notebook or you can chart online, paper, pen, $10 thermometer) and quite effective. The biggest plus for me was the body knowledge, the sense that I was working with rather than against my bodily cycle, and the reduction in PMS-related craziness b/c I knew exactly what was going on with me. It was also kind of fun. Takes less than 5 minutes a day.
Please note that I am NOT talking about "rhythm." This method is scientifically based and effective. (Hormonal methods are, I believe, more effective.) FAM combines well with condoms; that is, you can have unprotected sex when you know you're not fertile, and use a condom and/or withdrawal when you are fertile. We used FAM for years. We used it to avoid pregnancy, and we also used it to conceive when we wanted to.
Withdrawal is actually pretty effective as well, and many people find it rather sexy. Both withdrawal and FAM are based on bodily knowledge and self-control. These are very cheap methods for avoiding pregnancy, but of course they do nothing to prevent disease transmission.
Condoms can be fun, especially if you're not using them all the time. Sometimes it's fun not to have all the mess/clean-up inherent in unprotected PIV sex. Some condoms are uncomfortable for the woman, though.
Long ago, we had access to a nifty little device called the sponge. I heard they were coming back but haven't seen them around. These were spermicide barriers that went against the cervix. You could put them in before your date and take them out a few hours later, so they didn't interfere with "the moment." They were comfortable but more expensive than condoms. Anybody know if these are available today?
Hm. Every single thing I've ever read about FAM says it is extremely ineffective. There are so many factors that go into it, and it seems to rely on the woman having an EXTREMELY regular cycle which is pretty rare. And don't you have to observe your body's cycle for about a year in order to be the most accurate as possible when predicting your fertility in the future? That takes a lot more time and effort than popping a pill, it seems. Also, it sucks that you have to abstain from sex during a certain amount of time, either that or simply rely on condoms, which my fail. I certainly wouldn't rely on this because I am in no way capable of raising a surprise baby, even in my long term monogamous relationship.
I've only ever head bad things about withdrawal too, because sperm can be released before ejaculation. I thought that was kind of commmon sense.
I don't know. It is just very odd to me to hear such good things about it when I've ever only heard the contrary.
"Hm. Every single thing I've ever read about FAM says it is extremely ineffective. There are so many factors that go into it, and it seems to rely on the woman having an EXTREMELY regular cycle which is pretty rare. And don't you have to observe your body's cycle for about a year in order to be the most accurate as possible when predicting your fertility in the future? That takes a lot more time and effort than popping a pill, it seems. Also, it sucks that you have to abstain from sex during a certain amount of time, either that or simply rely on condoms, which my fail."
It depends on exactly which type of FAM is being used, and how disciplined you are at using it.
Theoretically, the failure rate of FAM can be as low as 3%. for comparison, its 2 percent for condoms.
The problem, is that its a very difficult method to use correctly. In practice, the failure rate is about 25%, compared with 15% for condoms. However, this is when using it as you're sole method of contraception. If you combine it with condoms, the failure rate will be much lower.
I use a Paragard IUD, it's a copper, non-hormonal one. I had it inserted after my abortion (I didn't want any more pills since I had gotten pregnant around the time I switched brands of pills, though the GYN at the time assured me I didn't need back-up birth control while switching pills-- still not sure I believe that since I never missed a dose).
All rants aside, I can't really address the discomfort question-- there was none due to conscious sedation from the abortion.
I love my IUD. I had some mid-cycle spotting for the first few months, but not anymore. Some folks say the cramps are bad with Paragard, but my scale for cramp-tolerance is probably pretty high. I used to get really really bad cramps as a teenager (curled up in a ball, rocking, crying and trying to ride it out despite advil).
I do like the non-hormonal part, though I was on pills for years and never would have switched were it not for the pregnancy. Sometimes during sex my husband can feel the wire (they call it a "string" but I think that's a deceptive name), but neither of us want another pregnancy, so he's making the best of it. I'm going to have it trimmed again to see if that helps.
Anyway, that's my own experience with the birth control.
ooh, be careful with having it trimmed. I have a paraguard and mine is cut pretty long, which makes it so it sort of wraps around the cervix. If it is cut too short, it just pokes straight out and is more likely to cause discomfort.
Thanks for the warning. Mine's still long, but won't wrap consistently without help from my fingers. I'll go with whatever my nurse practitioner tells me at my upcoming appointment.
It just goes to show how differing everyone's body is. Yaz has been a lifesaver for me. I was on Ortho Tri-cyclen Lo for years before I even had sex, for period regulation, but I would spot on it a great deal. I tried Tri-Sprintec, a generic of Ortho Tri-Cyclen, and became a raging, angry, crying mess for months. I spent a year off the pill with terrible, heavy periods and pain. Finally, when I needed contraception again, I talked to my doctor and she gave me Yaz. I could be a spokesperson for it, it has worked so well for me - light periods, very few cramps, no crazy mood swings, pretty much everything I could want in a pill. I use condoms as back-up if I have to take antibiotics or something.
I have looked into IUDs, but I don't think they're the right choice for me right now. So, Yaz and I are buddies. I realize this totally doesn't answer your question, but I just wanted to put it out there so people can see how differently we all react to various meds.
Yeah, I've heard that from a lot of people - I tried Tri-Sprintec too and it was horrible! I was in pretty much a constant state of nausea. I think the deal with Yaz is that you're supposed to have symptoms of PMDD for it to be effective, and I didn't, so the amount of progesterin was just too much I guess. It's a bit intimidating how much reactions can vary when you're trying out a new method.
Thanks for posting this! I'm exploring my options right now as well.
There are several different types of pills. I had similar issues as you with TriCyclen, it drove me absolutely batty and then had me in the fetal position when I came off of it. I think the problem for me was the 3 levels of hormones, my body didn't seem to have time to settle in and adjust. Cyclen however worked really well for me. It's a higher dose supposedly, but just the one level. So you might not want to ditch the pill entirely. Consider trying a different variety.
Looking up Yaz just now, it says it treats PMDD. Although we're typically taught to assume that any emotions we might have around the time of our periods are "just PMS," a very small percentage of us actually do experience much emotional disturbance. I've seen numbers from 2 - 10%. It's possible that that isn't really an issue for you, and attempting to treat it with Yaz is just gumming up the works.
I've also tried NuvaRing, and I was *really* unimpressed with it.
Ok, here is my birth control saga:
Tried the sponge, hated it. Made my vagina really dry, and I have small fingers so it was kind of hard to pull it out, and once it came out in pieces. It also tends to smell, and it's like, $2 every time you have sex. Not a fan.
Tried the Nuva Ring, pretty happy with it at first, the main downside was that it always came out during sex. it is allowed to be out for 2-3 hours, I think, so I would just take it out and then put it back in when I was done, but twice I fell asleep right after sex and had to take Plan B, so that was less than desirable. Then, about 3 months in, every once in a while (about every 6 weeks or so) I would get this terrible side effect where it was really painful to have sex. After about 5 days it would go away on its own. I also found that it lowered my sex drive. Needless to say, I got rid of that pretty fast. (it did lessen the amount of bleeding during my period though, so there was at least one plus).
I currently have a Paraguard IUD, and I am very happy with it. I am not the ideal candidate and I was worried they wouldn't let me have it (I am young, never had kids, and have heavy periods). But, I went to Planned Parenthood and they had no problem giving it to me. They gave me a great price, too, since I didn't have a ton of money. When it was inserted, it definitely hurts. I mean, you can handle it, but my eyes did well up a little, and it is over pretty fast. After that, you might feel a mild ache in your cervix for the rest of the day, but that's about it. Also, it made my periods way heavier for the first 2-3 months, but soon enough they were back to normal. The string was slightly uncomfortable for my boyfriend at first, but after a few months it softened up significantly, and he can't even feel it now.
I also like the Paraguard because I just really like ovulating. My sex drive always goes up, and there are just little changes to my body that I want to keep around.
Good luck in your birth control endeavors, ladies!
Yes, I agree totally about the sex drive!
Thanks for the response! I might take Paraguard into consideration if I ever happen to be in a longterm monogamous relationship.
I'm totally disappointed in all of the options that I have right now. I admit, I haven't tried them all, but I've read about all of them and I just can't find one that would work for me. It's really upsetting.
The pill gave me hell, too. It actually did make my periods a bit more tolerable, but it was not worth it because I felt like crap all of the rest of the time.
I want to remain child-free. This is why I want to be permanently sterilized. Sadly, I can't find a doctor that trusts me. They apparently think I'm just too stupid to make decisions for myself. So I've decided to abstain from sex instead. It seems like the only way that I can have control.
Well, I've tried a whole plethora of birth control, so I'll try and give you the short and sweet of all of them:
The Pill: I've tried about 3 brands. Never really had any crazy side effects (I've always used a low-dose, because too many hormones in the system freaks me out). I always forget to take them at the same time, so efficiency is problem.
Depo: After I took Depo once, I never wanted to again. Weight gain, mood swings, sex-drive tanked... it was terrible. Not to mention, that in the long-term, depo use tends to lead to calcium deficiencies. That, and its original use was to chemically castrate sex offenders. Putting that in my body is a little freaky.
Nuva-ring: Loved, loved, loved. Put it in for three weeks and forget about it! It made my discharge a little thicker (TMI, I know), but that's about all. Once it fell out during sex, but other than that, I've no complaints. Plus, because it's internal, it's pretty low-dose hormonal.
The Patch: Also pretty awesome. I just didn't like the ring of black gunk that would accumulate around the edges during the month... so I traded it in.
Withdrawal: Was doing this for a few months with a BF, but I was constantly paranoid that it would ultimately fail, so it dampened my libido almost more than depo did. I would not recommend it (though, I did read a recent study that it can be [almost] as effective as condoms when used correctly? There's a post about it on the site a few weeks back).
I'm really looking forward to finding a doc that will insert a non-hormonal IUD. I have 3 girlfriends who all have one and rant and rave about how awesome they are. They all tell the same tale of there being some cramp-like pain for the first couple of days... and then after, good to go. It's just a matter of finding a GP who will do it - usually the younger ones will - and getting the $250 or so to get it inserted. Really, this would be ideal for me because I hate using the hormonal stuff (but clearly, less than I hate the idea of getting knocked up at this point).
Hope this helps!
Try Planned Parenthood. They did not give the slightest inclination that I should not get it because of my age or because I have not had kids. I had an older Gynecologist too, so that didn't seem to affect her decision. They did a great job with insertion too, I was told the Doc did this about every single day. They took me into nice room with gentle music and had the nurse hold my hand and talk to me while they inserted it to distract me from the pain.
Wow, reading all these comments just goes to show how diverse women's bodies are!
I used to have really irregular cycles (3-8 weeks between periods) and heavy periods with intense cramping. I've been using Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo for over four years with mostly good results. It regulated my cycle without any breakthrough bleeding, reduced my cramps (I still get them, but usually only for a few hours each month and it's manageable with moderate doses of ibuprofen), and even cleaned up my acne significantly (although it's hard to know if that's just because I'm growing out of it). The only negative side effect I've noticed is that occasionally taking the first active pill in the cycle makes me nauseated for a day or so. This was really bad in the first few months, but is rare and mild now.
My only complaint about Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo is that I haven't been able to use it to skip my period (by skipping the inactive pills and continuing to the next month right away). A lot of people can do this safely and effectively, but my gyno says my body just might not want to, or that I might need a higher dose pill to be able to do that (no thanks!). I've tried several times, and it always delays my period by several days, and then makes me bleed lightly for about three weeks. I've actually done this on purpose a few times in order to delay my bleeding until after a vacation, or to move my cycle up in anticipation of an important event, but it's hardly ever worth the trouble.
I'm currently in my 4th month with Paraguard IUD. I wanted a non-hormonal method. Right now my body is still adjusting from coming off depo, and I currently have bleeding 10 out of every 14 days. Most of it is spotting, but I'm rather tired of it.
I am doing my best to be patient, as I spotted for about 6 months each time I've gone on depo. Other than the spotting, I really haven't had much in the way of side-effects & loved not having a period, but had started to worry that my increase of anger over the last year may have been related to it. (There could be a multitude of causes, so while my anger issues have lessened, I can't be sure if it's linked.)
I tried the patch & got killer headaches with each period, plus it looked hideous.
I tried Lutera, but am horrible at taking pills. I was less than timely once & got pregnant slightly earlier than I had planned.
As a teen I tried Ortho Tri-Cyclen, but I broke out in acne so I stopped.
Withdrawal hasn't really worked for me.
I prefer the intimacy of not using condoms on a regular basis, though they can be fun on occasion.
I'm hoping that this IUD works out, but I truly am running out of patience. I may have to consult and see if I'm eligible for Mirena.
hg, I tried the Paragard (before I got the Mirena) and I had problems with long and heavy periods, which is a possible side effect of the Paragard. I had painful periods as a teenager and getting rid of that was one of my birth control aims. My doc recommended Mirena instead and it's been the difference between night and day.
I've been using Seasonique because of horrible cramps that I had before using the pill (pain so bad that I have actually thrown up just from the pain, even after taking ibuprofen and tylenol). My GYN recommended it because even if I continued to have cramps (which I do/did) I'd only have a period every 3 months. It worked reasonably well, except that I had breakthrough bleeding, which could last up to a month and a half...which sucked. Plus, I still had periods that lasted up to 7 days, even after being on it for a year.
I'm currently switching to LoEstrin which has a 4 day period cycle. I'm hoping that it might also help with the mood swings I seem to be having lately (but I can't tell if it's just stress). Regardless, my GYN wrote it for continuous use so that I can skip my period if I want to, which might be helpful. But I haven't taken it long enough yet to actually be of any help in saying how it's worked for me.
Seasonique was also really expensive (granted it's for 3 months, but still). LoEstrin has a program for those who don't have prescription coverage so that you don't have to pay more than $24 for a month's prescription, which I thought was kind of conscientious, but I'm not sure if any other brands have the same sort of thing.
I don't have any problem taking the pill because I have another prescription that I take every day, so it's no big deal (and the other one is a big deal if I don't take it, so it's easy to remember to take my BC with it), but I realize that other people don't necessarily have anything else they take every day. My sister sets an alarm so that she remembers to take her BC, but that seems to be somewhat normal (at least among the people that I know that take the pill).
I set a recurring notification in my Outlook calendar, since I'm normally around my computer at night at the time I take mine. So every night at 10, a little box pops up telling me it's time to take it. It's useful.
The sad thing is, before the break from the Pill I mentioned in my above comment, I'd been on it for so long that it was almost like I had an internal body alarm. I just knew when it was time to take it. Three months off, and that internal alarm was totally destroyed!
If you are only concerned with preventing pregnancy, or if you are looking for a back up method to make condoms more effective, look into Vaginal Contraceptive Film. It's spermicide in a film which you insert vaginally. It melts, and you don't even know it's there. It needs to be inserted 10-15 min before intercourse to allow melting time.
I stopped using the pill after trying three different types over the span of about three years. I don't like the way it makes me feel and I don't like how it effects my period. Unfortunately, without the pill I can go over six months without a period, so my doctors really prefer me to use the product. Since I have a family history of cervical cancer, I'm considering having a full hysterectomy as a 23 year old rather than put myself through years of pill-taking.
Please remember cervical cancer is not affected by heredity. Cervical cancer is (almost) always caused by HPV, unless you have 2nd or 3rd generation DES exposure. Unfortunately no hormonal BC methods will prevent HPV.
Just remember EVERY woman has the right to choose what types of medication to use, including what hormones to take. I'd really encourage you to talk to your doctor about your discomfort with taking BC pills- and if he or she pressures you to take them, please find another doctor. Try Planned Parenthood- its their specialty.
This discussion is super helpful to me because I am seriously considering taking a break from BC pills and looking for other options.
I have been taking Sprintec for a year now and am tired of the side effects I am experiencing, though they are mild in comparison to those I have read about. Also, I am concerned about the hormones I am putting into my body every day, and I have come across so many mixed messages in my research that I am so confused at this point. Are they safe, unhealthy, what?
Anyway, I want to come off of the pill for a while at least, but I am really worried about the side effects I might experience if I do so. I started the pill to prevent pregnancy, and my periods were never too terrible or crippling. However, I am worried that going off the pill might make my periods really painful and my moods totally unpredictable.
I understand that reactions are different for everyone. I just hate this feeling of NOT AT ALL wanting to pop that pill everyday and then being afraid that the effects will be worse if I stop. Plus, I leave my boyfriend of two years and my home to start graduate school in a month, so I really don't want to deal with emotional stress brought about by my going off the pill.
Once again, my side effects currently aren’t that bad, but I am the kind of person who refrains from taking medication when sick. It freaks me out.
Any helpful thoughts?
This is a letter you might want to forward to the media department at Bayer, who is presently being sued by a number of women who have suffered serious injuries while on Yaz, and perhaps to the folks at the FDA too. Like me, you are one of the lucky women who dodged a bullet and didn't end up with a pulmonary embolism, blood clot or stroke. There are many others who were not so lucky ended up permanently disabled or worse, dead, from using these synthetic hormone-based methods.
Bottom line -- hormone-based birth control is not good for your body, and we have been led to believe that using these products are our only viable option for contraception. They are not. While the pill and the ring are convenient and effective, so are many other unsafe and unhealthy choices in life, but it doesn't mean we should choose those options. It all depends on what you value more.
After having a similar experience to yours, I swore off the hormones and began using the Fertility Awareness method three years ago with the help of a little computer to tell me when I am fertile and need to use a barrier method or Today sponge for protection. I have never in my adult life felt better than I do today. My periods are lighter and free of the extended and aggressive PMS symptoms I experienced before. I no longer have anxiety attacks from the hormones and the constant back ache and leg pains disappeared. In terms of convenience, this method is easy and reliable and I have no complaints. There is definitely a sense of empowerment that comes with tuning in to your body rather than handing it over to a drug. There is now a company dedicated to building awareness and providing products to support natural fertility management - Naturally for Her. You might want to have a look. Good luck!
Thanks for addressing the heteronormativity in the comments. That bothered me, but I was glad to see it addressed.
I'm a bisexual cis woman in a long term monogamous relationship with another cis woman, so pregnancy isn't my concern. However, when I was actively poly and having sex with people who could get me pregnant, that aspect was a concern. I started out with the Paragard, but after three years and an MRI that showed the havoc, I had to call it quits. Too much heavy, heavy bleeding. Not worth it. I switched to the Mirena and I am happy, happy, happy. Even though I don't need it to prevent pregnant, not having my period is awesome. (I know all about the social construction of menstruation, and I'm still not into menstruating.) The IUD was not painful to insert, either time.
Of course, every person is different, but I think the Mirena is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
Aye...so many side effects and trying to find the right birth control that best suits you. I will stick to my condoms. I am just too weary of having a drug constantly in my body. The non-hormonal Paragard IUD sounds promising but that won't have to be an option anytime soon.
It just seems that since I love how my body already functions with no cramps & painless periods that birth control will find some way to mess everything up.
I am so pissed off that nobody really ever sat down and warned me about real possible consequences of going on the pill. All I heard besides not to smoke when on it was how great it was for acne. I went on it at 18 and have been on it for years. I have tried to quit several times. Every time my face erupts into big deep and painful scarring acne. Before going on the pill my skin was great. The pill has messed up my hormones. I also have less energy when on the pill. Studies have been done now showing it is much more difficult for women to gain muscle on the pill (which I am trying to do) and I have stretch marks on my breasts from fluctuations in size the pill has caused. Oh, and I recently found out that the pill can be partly responsible for cellulite, which I now have and which I believe was partly caused by the pill because each time I attempted to stop taking it and then start again my cellulite appeared in new places. I have tried several different pills, once because planned parenthood changed what they provided and then again because ortho-tri-cyclen lo stopped working for me when I stopped it and then attempted to go back on it and I had to be switched to the regular ortho version. GAH! I feel like I am going to be stuck on this (expensive) pill forever.
How long have you been on the pill? A lot of things you describe (getting cellulite, changing breast size, changes in energy, skin changes, etc) are perfectly normal and happen to a lot of women as their bodies transition out of puberty (late teens & early 20s). It's possible that some or all of these things might have happened independent of your contraceptive use.
But if you are sure that some or all of these things are caused by the pill and it's not worth it to stay on, then by all means get off it! Talk to your doctor about the things that you would need help with if you got off, such as prescription acne treatments. As you can see from the posts on this thread, there are lots of other options out there for you, and your doctor can help you find something that works for you.
I don't know. I did talk to my doctor who prescribed the pill at planned parenthood and was told that the acne was caused by going off the pill and that this happens to a lot of people and that I had been off it long enough that they did not think my body was going to "regulate" itself. They offered to prescribe me medicated soap but warned that they didn't think it would help all that much and that all they thought would help my skin was going back on the pill because its basically fucked my hormones. Maybe I am too vain or superficial, but even though I really want to go off the pill again it really puts my body through the loop to do that and then have to go back on it (or something else because what I was taking no longer works) and I can't deal with acne as bad as what I get when I go off it. I don't think for hormonal acne as bad as what going off the pill caused that a superficial acne medication is going to help (and accutane scares me) but perhaps I should visit a derm and make sure that is the case. I have read a lot of cases of pill users who never had acne previous to going on the pill and got it when they went off and none of them found anything topical that worked, but I suppose I should not rule that out. I just really wish there had been some kind of warning to the extent that the pill can help those with acne but can also cause acne in those who never had a problem with their skin if they decide to go off of it. My doctor at planned parenthood knew this but for some reason didn't tell me when I went on it.
Wow, that's really scary! Your doc definitely should have shared that information with you. I hope you gave him/her a piece of your mind, and got a second opinion from another doc about possible solutions. Good luck!
I had a good round with Orth-Tri-Cyclin. And a couple of good years with its generic: Tri-Sprintec. But after about five years total on the pill, my cramps were starting to get worse, I felt lethargic so much of the time, and I felt like my breasts were constantly swollen.
Can I sing the praises of vasectomy? :) (How amazed was I to discover I did indeed have a sex drive...)
Of course, that really only works if you and your partner don't want children or are done having them, so it's obviously not for everyone.
And, of course, not everyone's partner would be willing to have one.
A lot of women I've talked to sing the praises of the copper IUD; it's more effective even than a tubal ligation and lasts 5 to 10 years.
Of course, it has its own possible side effects. Heavier periods being one. The string poking/cutting your partner if it's not short enough. Uterine perforation during insertion. Possibly being expelled from the uterus. Etc.
Wish I could be of more help.
And I wish there were more perfected options with fewer nasty side effects.
This, to me, would be the ultimate solution. What's been stopping us so far is the prohibitive price. He's a little younger than the typical vasectomy patient, but there's something called a Vas clip that we're looking into. Have you guys heard of this? Instead of snipping the vas deferens, they put clamp it off with this little clip. Easier to reverse, and apparently slightly more effective.
In the meantime, I have been really struggling with the idea of an IUD. I am abnormally nervous about the insertion, but I think I could deal with that if I felt reasonably assured I wasn't going to have heavy, painful periods for a year after it. No such luck, I guess.
I'm not going to lie to you, IUD insertion is painful. But, the pain does not last very long at all, and you can get through it. I have always had pretty heavy periods and I found that for the first 3 months, my periods were longer, much heavier, and a bit crampier. It got better with every period though, and about 4-5 months in, my periods were back to how they were before the IUD.
Also, I think some people overestimate how much heavier their periods are on the IUD, because when they get the IUD they go off of birth control that has the side effect of giving them lighter periods.
I can't promise you won't have bad side effects, but that was my experience with the IUD.
Vasectomy=my favorite form of birth control ever.
The pill is, as far as I'm concerned, the root of all evil for my body. I'm infertile, and a woman who has sex with women, never men. So really, I'm not sure why I take this stupid thing every God damn morning. Still, my doctor insists it will be helpful for the PCOS and tumour growing inside of my fallopian tube. I am yet to see how.
Tricylin-lo was probably the worst. I threw up every night I took it, and had the worst bleeding, clots and all. When I was throwing up, I wanted to, or had severe gut rot. I was cranky and a disgusting human being.
Alesse was painful as well. I bled for like 3 months straight even though I took the pill regularly. And when I first started it, the cramps I had were unreal. My uterus went into spasm or something, and every reproductive organ in me stung.
I am now on Yasmin. So far, it seems okay. I get an upset stomach most of the time, and headaches, but natural gravol and ibuprofen seem to control it.
All of the pills I've tried make me a bad person. I get severely depressed and even have suicidal thoughts.
Money wise, none of my BC experiences have been expensive. I'm a Canadian living in Canada with insurance, which probably varies from your situation. I think the pill is about $20 a month here if you don't have insurance.
I was also on the patch for awhile. It didn't do much in the way of regulating my cycles, and was inconvenient. That was awhile ago, and I don't remember any horrible side affects. At first it wasn't covered by insurance, but now it is. (Under the plan I have at least?) Without coverage it's something like $32.00 a month.
I am so sorry your medication is leading to suicidal thoughts. I hope you can keep yourself healthy and safe as best you can despite limited options for PCOS. Please don't kill yourself.
Been there - obviously I don't know your situation as well as your doctor, but it might be worth a second opinion. I don't know what kind of experiences the rest of you have had, but I've found that sometimes doctors don't take period-related symptoms very seriously. I've been lucky enough not to have ever struggled with clinical depression, but the thoughts I had on the Pill, particularly right before my period, were really awful. The feeling of being so depressed I didn't want to move and having no idea where it was coming from was scary, especially after I got off the Pill and realize that feeling was coming from hormones I was putting into my body. Not everyone has this experience, but it's definitely not something you should have to go through if you don't have to. Hang in there!
A friend of mine never wants children, to the extent where, were she to fall pregnant, I would be adopting her children. So she is trying to find a doctor who will give her a historectomy. But trying to find a doctor to do that when you're 23 and childless is really difficult!
I'm in a long-term monogamous relationship, and for us we just use condoms. I don't mind the feel or taste of them, so it's fine for us. And we rarely have PIV sex anyway.
I've never been on any hormonal BC pills, and probably never will. My periods are regular and easy to manage, so there isn't much point. I'm also crap at taking pills regularly, and often forget to take my anti-depressants.
I also feel very uncomfortable about messing with my body's rhythm. My mother had to have a historectomy because of hormone troubles, and I'm not sure if I'll have the same.
My final concern, and I know this isn't likely, is that the pill will mess with my ability to have children. I already expect to have trouble having children due to my iron problems and my size, and I don't want to mess it up further. Again, I know that isn't likely, but one of my biggest fears is not being able to have children, so I'm a bit paranoid.
Your friend will definitely have trouble finding a doctor to do a hysterectomy, if there's no good medical reason (tumors, possibly PCOS, etc).
That's a major surgery.
She may have better luck finding one to do a tubal ligation and possibly a uterine ablation (if she wants to get rid of her periods).
Yeah, you're right. I mentioned it flippantly to her once, something along the lines of "maybe you should just get rid of your uterus! No more periods!". She isn't sure about getting her tubes tied because, as with vasectomies, that procedure reverses sometimes.
New plan! If she says to a doc "I want permanent sterilisation!" and the two of them work together to find a viable option.
I know what you mean about condoms being a hassle. That's part of the reason my husband and I sometimes use withdrawal as well, and it's worked well for us so far *knocks on wood* We keep the condoms nearby so grabbing one usually isn't much of a hassle--my husband has even made a bit of a game out of seeing how much he can distract me from grabbing one ;)
I haven't been keen on the idea of starting hormonal contraceptives, largely because I'm already taking more pills than I'd like (stupid depression...) and I don't like messing with my body that way, but I also know that my mother had issues with it. If figure if condoms worked for my parents--I'm an only child, and planned--they can work for us *shrugs*
I'm late to the party but feel the need to rep Implanon on this thread. It's the best decision I've ever made--insertion was a breeze, didn't feel a thing and had little to no bruising, I've only had one cramp-free period since April, I don't have to worry about forgetting pills or losing rings or not having enough money for yet another month of birth control or... anything, really. I don't have to worry about anything, for three years. I love it. LOVE IT.